"The two countries have deep and strong ties with each other, and such relations would not only serve the interests of the two nations but also play an effective role in the establishment of sustainable security in the region," Ahmadinejad said in a telephone conversation with Amir of Qatar Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani.



President Ahmadinejad also pointed to the current meeting of the Group of 15 in Tehran, and stated, "The G-15 should be further activated in a bid to play its role under the present circumstances of the global economic crisis."



Sheikh Hamad, for his part, reminded the common stances adopted by Tehran and Doha, and added, "Qatar shares the Islamic Republic of Iran's view about important regional and bilateral issues, and supports these stances."



"Qatar, like Iran, is eager to resolve the regional problems through diplomatic ways and by the regional countries," the Qatari Amir added.



Iran and Qatar have recently augmented efforts to further expand ties and cooperation in all the different political, economic, defense and security fields.



The two Persian Gulf littoral states recently signed a defense protocol to increase mutual cooperation.



Qatar's Crown Prince recently visited Iran and held talks with Iranian top officials, including President Ahmadinejad, Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani, Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Secretary Saeed Jalili and First Vice-President Mohammad Reza Rahimi.